There are a lot of fears and excitement right now over the rapid development of AI technologies such as ChatGPT. I want to start by addressing the fear of the AI itself. Some are concerned about what it could develop into. We suddenly have thoughts of Hollywood depictions of AI gone wrong like in iRobot, or Terminator. As we think about AI and church, I have a question that I think puts these fears to rest.
Can life come from nothing? The answer to that is no. The fears and concerns of AI becoming sentient are overblown. These new AI models mimic intelligence, but true intelligence requires a supernatural Creator God.
Good and Evil
It is however a very powerful piece of technology a tool that can be very useful. I think there will be some that embrace it and use it to improve and speed up everyday tasks both in business and personal lives. Of course, anytime a new technology arises some may lose their jobs, or find their jobs changing, but also new jobs will be created. And, just like any tool in our toolbox AI can be used for good and evil depending on the user. The only real concern I believe with AI is if governments use these tools to suppress their citizens.
A.I. and The Church
But can AI be useful in the church? Should we use ChatGPT to write our sermons, and create songs of worship? I wouldn’t go that far with it, though I am sure you could get ChatGPT to do these tasks for you. But then how could you present a sermon or a Bible study from your heart and the heart of God when it was prepared by an AI compiled it from the data already available on the internet, and from words written by other individuals who took the time to meet with God and study his words. No, I’m afraid using AI to write a sermon, or worship song in my mind would result in something very shallow spiritually.
However, that doesn’t mean AI used correctly couldn’t be a tool in sermon preparation if you are already studying God’s Word and have in mind what you want to present. In your sermon preparation you might experience difficulty expressing a thought, and in that instance you could use AI to refine your thoughts. AI could quickly look for reference materials, give quick definitions, or even help you understand a concept better because it really can be a good research tool, however, always double-check any information you get from an AI because they do sometimes get it wrong.
I also think AI could help churches in areas they struggle with like creating content for marketing events, or for social media posts. AI photo generators like Midjourney can help church graphic design teams create sermon slide images that express concepts that are sometimes hard to find in standard stock photography.
Toolbox
I think AI is a tool that could be added to a church’s toolbox. I would only draw the line on using AI for anything that touches on the spiritual as I believe it could lead to a very shallow understanding and response to spiritual things, but there are plenty of practical uses where AI can be used to help a local church accomplish its goals in reaching the community around them.
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